GLENDALE, Ariz. — It will take 20 more wins and four overtime points before the Edmonton Oilers can call it even with the Arizona Coyotes, but right now one regulation victory is more than enough.

After wandering the Arizona desert for five years without a single regulation win to show for it, the Oilers finally got to quench their thirst with a feisty 3-2 decision Wednesday, snapping a bizarre run of Coyote dominance (21-0-4) that dated back to Jan. 25, 2011.

“Obviously a big win for us here,” said head coach Todd McLellan, whose club also won for just the second time in 12 tries two days earlier in St. Louis. “That’s a couple of buildings on this trip where we haven’t had success and found ways to win.”

It wasn’t the big names who led the way in this one, but rather the blue-collar line of Matt Hendricks, Mark Letestu and Zack Kassian, who were all over the Coyotes and the scoreboard in combining for seven points.

“Sometimes those guys are stars in their own right, too,” said McLellan. “The way they grind it out, the way they penalty kill. You have to have a whole bunch of different types of ingredients to come out with wins in this league and as the year drags on games get heavier and harder, those guys become even more important.”

Letestu had a goal and two assists, Hendricks had a goal and an assist and Kassian had a pair of helpers and yet another goal wiped out by video review.

“It’s easy chemistry with those guys,” said Letestu. “All our games are pretty similar, get the puck in, work the forecheck and get to the dirty areas and score goals. We’ve been consistent over the last little stretch and tonight we got rewarded with some goals.”

The Oilers were also a physical force, something else that fans haven’t been able to say about this team in a long time. Hendricks sent Jakob Chychrun to the dressing room with a hard hit, and when he returned in the second period Eric Gryba sent him back with another one, then cut Luke Schenn in the ensuing fight.

In the third, when Oliver Ekman-Larsson sent Hendicks sliding into the end boards with an iffy, high-speed hit, Kassian buried a cross-check into his ribs, then popped Anthony Duclair in the mouth when he showed up to ask questions about it.

It took 10 years, but the Oilers are not a fun team to play against anymore.

“That’s been something we’ve harped on, and with the new management and coaching staff coming in, we want to be a big, heavy team,” said Hendricks. “It’s no secret to anyone in the league that’s what we’re trying to create in Edmonton, and we’re taking the right steps.

“We’re a proud group, we play hard for each other, we stand up for each other and we want to be a team that doesn’t get pushed around.”

They don’t. Letestu even completed the Gordie Howe hat-trick during an earlier melee, continuing to be a huge element in Edmonton’s recent surge.

“We spent a lot of time talking about Connor and Leon and other guys who’ve had tremendous starts to the season,” said McLellan. “But the major catalyst on our team right now is Letestu, whether it’s power play, penalty kill, faceoffs, grinding it out, getting a line going. We’re very lucky to have him right now.”

The win improves Edmonton to 18-12-5, lifting them to into a tie with San Jose for the division lead, and gives them three straight wins in the final four games before the Christmas break.

They will attempt to run the table Friday against the Sharks.

The Oilers got exactly the start they were after, with Letestu and Kassian scoring at 8:13 and 15:07 of the first period and made it 3-0 when Matt Hendricks took a rebound off the end boards and scored his first of the season at 2:16 of the second.

The Coyotes fought back hard after that, though. They outshot Edmonton 20-10 over the last 40 minutes and tied it on Martin Hanzal goal at 11:19 of the second and made it 3-2 when Ekman-Larsson scored with six seconds left, but it was too little and too late.

Streak over.

“The way we played the third period we really left the door open for them,” said Letestu. “This has been a really tough building for us to get points, so to get two is pretty satisfying.”